April 3, 2014

APRIL 3, 2014 | VoLuME XcV| IssuE LII are we for real since 1918

GOOD RIDDANCE

TUITION UP AGAIN

PARTY WITH SHAD

AMS decides to sell the Whistler Lodge without renovations

UBC approves 2% bump for domestic students, 3% for international students

Canadian hip-hop legend Shad to hit Block Party stage next week

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TOOPE’S EYEWEAR EVOLUTION Our analysis of the outgoing prez’s glasses P11 BREAKING THE ICE UBC’s brand new figure skating club wants you P5

WOMEN OF UBC Being a single mother on campus, intersectionality and more: chronicling the stories of the women who make up our campus

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Thursday, april 3, 2014 |

YouR guIDE To uBc EVENTs + PEoPLE

WHaT’s on

THIs WEEK, MAY WE suggEsT...

iNdiGENOUS WOMEN iN FilM 6 P.M. @ liU insTiTUTe

screening of My Legacy and Q+A with filmmaker Helen Haig-Brown.

Dinner provided if you RsVP at ubcsettlercolonial@gmail.com.

Free

Mackenzie Walker staff photographer

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SFU SpRiNG SENdOFF

4 P.M.–10 P.M. @sfU conVocaTion Mall

crash simon Fraser university’s version of Block Party! The artist lineup includes 3LAu, Vicetone, Moiez, FKYA and sajjid. And haven’t you always wanted to go to Burnaby? It’s only a two buses and a skyTrain away! $40 for nonSFU students

SATURDAY

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UBC A CApEllA 7 P.M. @ reGenT cHaPel

Take a break from end-of-term assignments and hear uBc A capella and other singing groups perform sans instruments. Featuring mashups, medleys and juno-nominated guests. They also play April 10 at the Norm Theatre. $5 for students, $8 for non-students

ON THE COVER “I was surprised how many people were happy to smile and have their photograph taken by a complete stranger early morning on a weekday.

Almost everyone that was photographed seemed very enthusiastic about the concept.” Photos by Kosta Prodanovic.

Video content We have videos! Go to ubyssey.ca/ videos/ to watch our Watch My Stuff video, classic Sports Friends, etc.

U THE UBYSSEY

eDiToRiaL

Coordinating Editor Geoff Lister coordinating@ubyssey.ca Managing Editor, Print Ming Wong printeditor@ubyssey.ca Managing Editor, Web CJ Pentland webeditor@ubyssey.ca News Editors Will McDonald + Sarah Bigam news@ubyssey.ca Senior News Writer Veronika Bondarenko vbondarenko@ubyssey.ca Culture Editor Rhys Edwards culture@ubyssey.ca Senior Culture Writer Aurora Tejeida atejeida@ubyssey.ca Sports + Rec Editor Natalie Scadden sports@ubyssey.ca Senior Lifestyle Writer Reyhana Heatherington rheatherington@ubyssey.ca Features Editor Arno Rosenfeld features@ubyssey.ca

Video Producer Lu Zhang video@ubyssey.ca Copy Editor Matt Meuse copy@ubyssey.ca

Photo Editor Carter Brundage photos@ubyssey.ca Illustrator Indiana Joel ijoel@ubyssey.ca Webmaster Tony Li webmaster@ubyssey.ca Distribution Coordinator Lily Cai lcai@ubyssey.ca sTaFF Catherine Guan, Nick Adams, Kanta Dihal, Marlee Laval, Angela Tien, Carly Sotas, Alex Meisner, Luella Sun, Jenny Tang, Adrienne Hembree, Mehryar Maalem, Jack Hauen, Kosta Prodanovic, Olivia Law, Jethro Au, Bailey Ramsay, Jenica Montgomery, Austen Erhardt, Alice Fleerackers, Nikos Wright, Milica Palinic, Jovana Vranic, Mackenzie Walker, Kaveh Sarhangpour, Steven Richards, Gabriel Germaix, Jaime Hills, Jenny Tan, Kaidie Williams, Rachel Levy-McLaughlin, Maura Forrest, Paul S. Jon

oNE oN oNE WITH THE PEoPLE WHo MAKE uBc

Capturing the moment with photog Martin Dee

THURSDAY 03

FRIDAY

oUR camPUs

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When people think of the UBC visual look, they usually think of the picturesque views of campus, portraits of professors that bring academia to life in viewbooks, brochures and the like. There’s a good chance that most of the photography they’re seeing is created by UBC’s official photographer Martin Dee. Working as a photographer for UBC for over 28 years across three UBC presidents, Dee has the insider perspective of the ever-changing campus, and has had a role in shaping its visual identity.

Starting out as a Langara College photography grad, Dee previously worked in a one-hour photo lab as a lab technician.

From there, Dee eventually found his way to UBC working in the photography department. He has been here ever since, and is now the only official university photographer left on campus.

Dee started his career with a solid technical understanding of his craft. He was trained on and spent the majority of his career working with film, and he attributes this to his continuing success in the photography industry.

Dee is modest in his contribution to UBC, saying the current brand has been a team effort between art directors and marketing advisors.

“That’s a very flattering thought,” he said. “Over the years, UBC has moved on from staged stock photography back in the ’90s to more [about] capturing a moment and naturally lit photos today.

“Let’s not just take picture,” he says, “let’s make pictures.”

Whether photographing students or future UBC presidents, like he did at the announcement of Arvind Gupta, Dee’s top priority is making the subject feel as relaxed as possible in order to get a great photo.

“I find that a quick, naturally lit photo makes the subject much more comfortable then a large light setup.”

PHoTo MAcKENZIE WALKER/THE uBYssEY

Martin Dee is uBc’s official photographer, and he’s worked here for over 28 years, across three uBc presidents.

Photography isn’t the only thing on Dee’s mind. After graduating high school, he dreamt of travelling — specifically, to Asia.

“I wanted to travel after high school, but my parents were focused on me getting an education.”

He did eventually follow though with his dream, travelling to southeast Asia after his Langara program and with a diploma in hand. He thought nothing would stop him in his travels, until 51 weeks after his departure from Canada, he caught dengue fever in the Philippines and returned home.

Martin Dee has found his niche here at UBC, but still continues to learn.

“I learn from photographers that I aspire to be, and I learn from students here on campus.

Everyone has something to share.”

Dee’s humble approach to the craft might just explain how he has managed to work here for so long. U

AdViCE FOR ThE yOUNG’UNS To those interested in pursuing photography as a career of their own, dee says: “Don’t be discouraged by negative feedback. Learn from them and do better next time. Don’t be afraid to try new things and you’ll eventually figure out what works and will keep you growing. And don’t get complacent. There is always room for improvement.”

APRIL 3, 2014 | VoLuME XcV| IssuE LII

BUsiness

conTacT

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Staff members: be sure to vote in our 2014-2015 editorial elections before Friday 3:45 p.m.

Thursday, April 3, 2014 |

EDITORS WILL Mcdonald + Sarah Bigam

science >>

ams >>

Whistler Lodge to be sold without renovations

PHOTO COURTESY EMSL /FLICKR

A scientist from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory uses a photoemission electron microscope at the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory in Richland, Washington.

Building planned for quantum research

Sarah Bigam News Editor

UBC plans to start construction on a new building for an expanded Quantum Matter Institute in June.

At a Board of Governors standing committee meeting on April 1, the board approved a $2.5 million funding release to continue plans for the project, which will be built as an addition to the Brimacombe building.

Dean of Science Simon Peacock said the building will be primarily comprised of research labs to support quantum materials scientists and engineers. It will house the Quantum Matter Institute and will also be used by German PhD researchers through UBC’s partnership with the Max Planck Society.

“There’ll be quite a few electron microscopes, microscopes that

NEWS BRIEFS Results of the SUB waste audit On March 19, UBC club Common Energy held UBC’s first-ever student-run waste audit. Fifty volunteers sorted through and documented 12 hours’ worth of waste from the SUB. This amounted to 368.33 kg of total waste. Before sorting, garbage accounted for 64 per cent of the waste, but afterwards, food scraps accounted for 49 per cent and garbage accounted for only 19 per cent.

71.42 kg of the total waste was garbage, 179.95 kg food scraps, 33.58 kg recyclable containers and 83.38 kg paper.

Only 27 per cent of what was thrown out as garbage was actually garbage, but 89 per cent of food scraps and 92 per cent of paper were sorted correctly. In total, 50 per cent of the waste was sorted properly.

“Without even reducing the amount of waste produced or making infrastructual changes, UBC could reduce the amount of garbage sent to the landfill by 45 per cent if UBC students and staff sorted out their waste correctly,” CE’s report read.

CE composed a “blacklist” of several items sold in the SUB that are unsustainable and were found in high abundance. These items include styofoam containers sold by the Deli, plastic food containers sold at Honour Roll, waxed paper bags and cups and plastic-lined bags. U

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allow us to examine material down at the atomic level,” said Peacock.

“These unusual quantum properties emerge when you do things very small – very small wires, very small sheets – and we need to be able to look at them at the atomic scale.” $2 million of the building’s budget hinges on UBC receiving a Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) from the federal government, which would provide UBC with $10 million over seven years to pay for equipment and personnel support for UBC’s candidate.

In November 2012, UBC was selected to recruit a CERC in quantum materials. Jenny Hoffman, an associate professor of physics at Harvard University, has been recruited by UBC and is their proposed candidate for the position.

“We looked for the very best people to complement our existing

strengths,” said Peacock. “This was to build upon research excellence and try to build it to the very top level.”

The CERC candidates are currently being reviewed and the final results are expected to be announced in May. Hoffman’s research requirements changed the plans for the building, which initially did not have sufficient materials for electron microscopy. Four ultra-low vibration chambers are now planned for the basement of the building.

As these changes cost $2.2 million, the second floor will now be left as unused space for “when funds can be raised,” according to a report to the Board.

The changes pushed back the predicted completion of the project by two months. Construction is predicted to be complete by August 2016.

“It’s far easier to change a building before you’ve built it than after,” said Peacock. “We’re happy to accept a slight delay in the timing of the building to be able to incorporate the electron microscopes needed by Professor Hoffman.”

Construction is estimated to cost $25.2 million. The Faculty of Science has committed $8 million and UBC has committed $11 million.

Fundraising for the remaining $4.2 million is ongoing. If fundraising is not successful, the remainder will be funded by Science, UBC and the Faculty of Applied Science.

“I can’t wait for Jenny Hoffman to get here,” said Peacock. “She’s a dynamo and she’s going to take us to the next level.”

The project comes before the Board of Governors for the next step in the approval process on April 14. U

money >>

Tuition to increase for international, domestic students Will McDonald News Editor

At Tuesday’s Board of Governors standing committee meeting, members approved tuition increases for both domestic and international students.

Domestic undergraduate students will see a two per cent tuition increase, while undergraduate international tuition for incoming students will increase by three per cent. The Board also approved a two per cent tuition increase for domestic and international graduate students. All three student BoG representatives voted in favour of the increases.

International undergraduate students starting in the 20142015 academic year will see increases of two per cent each year until their degree program is completed.

The Board also approved tuition for several new programs, including the bachelor of media studies. Tuition for the program will be set at $214.81 per credit for domestic students and $842.67 per credit for international students. This will make the degree cost $6,000 more than a regular bachelor of Arts for domestic students and $7,920 more for international students.

File photo geoff lister/the ubyssey

The next Board of Governors meeting will be April 14.

A 47.6 per cent tuition increase was also on the agenda for the master of management program, but after a student BoG rep asked about the justification behind the cost, the Board decided to postpone it.

“I’m seeing blank looks all around the table,” UBC President Stephen Toope said at the meeting.

“Let’s just bring that back.”

The Board also decided to defer discussion on a 20 per cent increase to the iMED fee, a fee international students pay to help cover their medical costs before B.C. healthcare takes effect.

“I still can’t help have a red flag go off when I see a 20 per

cent increase in premiums,” BoG student representative Matt Parson said in reference to the fee increase.

VP Students Louise Cowin said the increase was partly due to a change in health care provider, and was in line with the level of health services UBC pays for international students.

The Board also discussed several other proposed fees, including a $90 fee for students to write a deferred exam at the Okanagan campus. After student rep Curtis Tse questioned the rationale behind this fee, the Board decided to postpone its approval. U

FILE PHOTO kai jacobson/THE UBYSSEY

The AMS has until April 30 to come up with a plan for how to sell the Lodge.

Will McDonald News Editor

AMS Council has decided to sell the Whistler Lodge as it is, rather than renovate or lease it.

Council unanimously approved the decision last Wednesday. While they have decided to sell the lodge in its current state, they will not list it for sale until they have developed a plan to sell it.

Although the AMS was considering other options for the lodge, including leasing it, the society’s business board determined selling the lodge in its current state was the AMS’s best option. Business board representative Philip Edgcumbe said redeveloping the lodge would put the AMS at increased financial risk, and may make the lodge less appealing to some investors.

“The argument is that a developer who is likely going to be buying the property would see that potential [to redevelop the property],” said Edgcumbe. “The hope is that we’re capturing the entirety of the market.”

At the meeting, AMS President Tanner Bokor said that according to the society’s bylaws, Council would have to meet to accept an offer on the property. Bokor said real estate offers are often only valid for a period of 48 to 72 hours, which would make selling the Lodge logistically difficult.

“In terms of our ability as a council to react ... that quickly, quite frankly it’s not there. So ... we want to essentially do this soon,” said Bokor.

The motion gives Council until April 30 to come up with a plan for selling the Lodge. U

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Write Shoot Edit Code Drink

COME BY THE UBYSSEY OFFICE SUB 24, FOLLOW THE SIGNS

4 | NEWS |

ThURSdAy, ApRil 3, 2014

FUnDinG >>

Bill Gates gives $1.5 million to UBC research

inFRasTRUcTURe >>

PHoTo oNINNoVATIoN/FLIcKR

Bill gates has given $25.9 million in total to the pre-eclampsia research project.

Sarah Bigam News Editor

Including a recent $1.5 million grant, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has now donated $25.9 million to a UBC project that aims to improve care for women with pre-eclampsia.

Pre-eclampsia is high blood pressure during pregnancy, and according to Peter von Dadelszen, a UBC professor of obstetrics and gynecology, this condition is the most common cause of maternal death in North America and the second leading cause of maternal death globally.

Von Dadelszen leads Pre-eclampsia and Eclampsia Monitoring, Prevention and Treatment (PREEMPT), a multinational initiative that aims to reduce the impact of pre-eclampsia and other hypertensive disorders that can arise during pregnancy.

According to PRE-EMPT’s website, this condition results in 60,000 to 80,000 maternal deaths every year, over 99 per cent of these occurring in low- and middle-income countries.

“This is great recognition by the Gates Foundation of this vital global partnership, which I have the immense honour to lead,” von Dadelszen said in a UBC press release. “Its legacy, and that of our global team, will be counted in the

thousands of women’s and infants’ lives saved. The findings ... may be as pertinent in rural and remote Canada as they will be throughout less developed countries.”

In collaboration with PREEMPT, UBC researchers recently developed an app that detects the symptoms of pre-eclampsia sooner than other existing methods. The team recently published findings showing their app is accurate 85.5 per cent of the time at identifying women who have a greater than average risk of developing a fatal complication of pre-eclampsia.

The app is used with the Phone Oximeter, a device created by UBC researchers Mark Ansermino and Guy Dumont that uses a probe attached to a patient’s fingertip to measure blood oxygen saturation.

“The fatal complications of pre-eclampsia are usually preventable,” said von Dadelszen. “Too many deaths in Asia and Africa are because women are arriving at hospital having already suffered strokes or lost their baby. We can prevent this with training, community education and technology.”

Pilot trials of the app are currently running in Nigeria, Pakistan and India. With the new donation, trials will be extended to Mozambique as well. According to the press release, these four countries account for over half of maternal and newborn deaths from pre-eclampsia. U

FILE PHoTo gEoFF LIsTER/THE uBYssEY

The famous steam tunnels will still remain after the changes have taken place.

UBC switching to hot water heating Veronika Bondarenko senior News Writer

UBC is making the switch from a steam-based to hot water-based heating system.

The steam system, which has been used since 1922, transports the energy used for heating various buildings across a tunnel of underground pipes. While the new system will still run through the underground tunnels, it will also make use of insulated pipes to bring hot water to buildings on campus.

“It’s still using the same concept of having a district energy system, but we’re going to a lower temperature system that’s more efficient and more adaptable,” said Jeffrey Giffin, energy conservation manager at UBC Building Operations.

As part of a five-year project to convert all the buildings on campus to hot water heating, a 15-megawatt temporary energy centre has been put in place to connect the buildings that have already been converted to hot water heating through a series of insulated pipes.

“We’ve converted 17 buildings to date and we’ve got another 22 com-

ing up in the next couple of months.

We’re moving along fairly well, but we’re really turning up the heat on it in the next year,” said Giffin.

Since many of the buildings on campus are already heated by hot water that is converted from steam through heat exchangers, the above-ground changes that still need to be made are fairly minor.

Once most of the buildings across UBC are converted to the hot water heating system, the temporary centre will be replaced by a natural gas-powered, 60-megawatt hot water plant across from the Life Sciences Centre, to be called the Campus Energy Centre. Parts of the other centre will be sold off.

Giffin said that since hot water can be kept at a much lower temperature than steam (80 degrees C versus 190), it is a more efficient and environmentally friendly use of the university’s energy.

“We’re trying to reduce the energy loss and increase our efficiencies by converting from steam to a lower temperature medium,” said Giffin.

Sam Orr, acting manager of UBC Project Services, said the new

system will utilize less natural gas and drastically reduce UBC’s carbon footprint.

“Because you can run hot water at a lower temperature, you are burning less natural gas and creating less greenhouse gas emissions,” said Orr. Once the last of the buildings are switched to hot water heating in the fall of 2015, the steam system will be shut off entirely.

“We’ll still have the steam system as a backup just in case, but as soon as we have a full cold season running the campus on hot water, we’ll be able to decommission the steam system and then eventually demolish a section of the steam pathway,” said Orr. According to Giffin, the switch will allow UBC to move forward in terms of both finances and sustainability.

“We’re replacing a steam system that has served the campus very well for the past hundred years,” said Giffin. “But at this point, it’s fairly old and would require a significant amount of capital investment just to keep it going the way it is.” U

ReseaRcH >>

Student researching cancer at cellular level Armaan Malhotra Contributor

PhD candidate Eric Price and his team have enhanced a relatively new method of ovarian cancer therapy that is more targeted to cancer cells and exhibits less toxicity than current drug regimes.

By linking a radioactive atom to a molecule specific to the cancerous cell, Price’s team is able to target cancer at the cellular level.

Fundamentally, cancer is uncontrolled growth and division of cells. The general method of tumour treatment that interested Price involved the attachment of a radioactive element, such as gallium (chemically similar to iron), to a molecule that is specific to the cancer site. Once inside the patient, this molecule — either an antibody or drug with the attached element — seeks a cancerous cell, radio-

actively destroys it and proceeds to the next.

While the above techniques had been discovered prior to Price’s work, his team built on a significant problem that faced the therapy.

“Our own bodies have many natural ways of dealing with metals; when a patient is given these specially designed molecules, their own body steals the radioactive element for itself before the molecule can reach the cancer,” Price said.

Price and his team developed a compound, called a chelator, specific to the ovarian cancer antibody that masks the presence of the radioactive particle from the patient’s body, thus allowing it to interact only with the cancer.

“We are effectively fighting cancer at the microscopic level, which is unlike surgery or conventional radiotherapy that can miss parts of the tumor and allow the cancer to

return,” said Price. By exclusively targeting cancer cells, this therapy is anticipated to be more bearable than “traditional brute force chemotherapy, which is associated with many worse side effects,” according to Price.

“This next step in personalized medicine uses tiny, sub-physiological doses, thus ensuring that toxicity for the patient is really nonexistent. Therapeutic uses of these compounds rely exclusively on the radioactivity to kill cancer cells, and not the pharmacology of the agents,” Price said.

Currently, Price is a graduate student in UBC’s chemistry department. His research was the result of a collaborative effort that started in 2012 between UBC’s Medical Inorganic Chemistry Group, UBC TRIUMF and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. U

Thursday, april 3, 2014 |

EDIToR NATALIE SCADDEN

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FiGURe sKaTinG >>

UBC figure skating club breaks the ice Jenny Tang staff Writer

When she came to UBC for her master’s degree in electrical engineering, Angelica Ruszkowski was amazed that there wasn’t a figure skating club.

Ruszkowski has been skating since she was five and competed in varsity figure skating during her undergrad at the University of Waterloo. “It’s become a huge part of my academic life,” she said. “I’ve never really been without skating before, and then I come here and it’s like there are all these talented people, but no skating club! It was pretty upsetting, so that’s something I want to change.”

The ice dancer has decided to take matters into her own hands and has set out to establish a UBC figure skating club by September. The idea started when she joined a group at the local rink known as the “Figure Shinny” and noticed that, while there was interest in forming a club, the Shinny practice time — usually around 1 or 2 p.m. — was a little inconvenient for most of the UBC student body.

After joining forces with Heather Murray, an undergraduate skater, and a Shinny coach, Ruszkowski is looking to get more interest in skating outside of the rink and inside the student body.

“I have collected a couple of names from last term [at the Shinny]” Ruszkowski said, “and I’m collecting more names at the rink.

I left a sign up sheet so people can sign up right away. I have at least 10 names from last term alone.”

To get constituted as a viable club within the AMS, one has to do a five-minute presentation to promote their cause and prove there is in-

PHoTo sTEVEN RIcHARDs/THE uBYssEY

Angelica Ruszkowski, left, and Heather Murray hope to start a figure skating club at uBc by september.

terest in what they want to do, with at least 10 potential members. The figure skating club has gotten past this stage with flying colours, but there is more paperwork for them to do before they can hit the ice.

“We’ve gotten a thumbs up, so now there are documents needed to make a constitution, there’s a budget, there are some administrative-type forms that are all available online. The AMS has a start a club’ page that makes it all easy,” Ruszkowski said.

The next step will require deciding on the purpose of the club. While figure skating is big in Southern Ontario and is contested within Ontario University Athletics,

T-BiRDs 5-on-5

it is not a recognized varsity sport in the Canada West or CIS. Thus, competitive meets are harder to arrange, meaning the club will largely be recreational.

Having basic “learn to skate” sessions are not out of the question, but the club is unsure of exactly who they are appealing to. Ruszkowski said potential members at the rink were on a more competitive level, but after volunteering to teach other grad students how to skate, she’s noticed a growing interest in recreational skating as well.

“Because of the international population at UBC, the learn to skate’ sessions would be really good,” she said.

Ruszkowski believes there is a strong talent pool in the diverse student body, and skating ability at UBC ranges from having never skated to Olympic level. “[Skating] is such a fun sport, and it’s really good exercise. It’s tough on your legs and you need your core strength for balance, and it’s an awareness thing — you have to be aware of every part of your body. It’s very difficult when you’re out on the ice because there is a lot that has to go on and you can’t tell when you’re watching all the professionals, because the point is to make it look easy but it’s really very challenging.”

Ruszkowski admitted that finances are one of the biggest

ANNAMAY PIERSE

HANNA PIERSE

GRAINNE PIERSE

swimming 2006–2009

swimming 2006–2011

swimming 2008–2013

obstacles in setting up a club like this, as renting ice time is neither inexpensive nor easily available.

An hour of ice time at Thunderbird Arena comes with a price tag of around $250.

However, Ruszkowski has thought of ways to get around this problem without blowing the bank on membership fees. “There are grants that we can apply for [as a club] that can go towards that funding,” she said. “[But] fundraising is always an option. Fundraising and figure skating go hand in hand, whether it’s selling chocolate bars or cinnamon buns. One time I sold frozen chicken for a varsity fundraiser.”

If the club doesn't take the competitive route, Ruszkowski said they could run a show or gala of sorts where skaters could give performances that both raise awareness and generate some funds. At the local Shinny, Ruszkowski met Mira Leung, a former Olympian who placed 12th overall at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. “It’s awesome that there is talent here,” Ruszkowski said. “That’s why I want to put a Thunderbird name on it.”

While Canada is known for its ice hockey, figure skating continues to gain popularity, and Ruszkowski is hoping to see more people at UBC pick up a pair of skates, including those in her program. “The figure skating world and the electrical engineering world don’t often collide, but I’m hoping they will when we get more people involved.

“It’s a popular Canadian sport, so I’m confident things will work out.” U If you’re interested in joining the UBC figure skating club, please email Angelica Ruszkowski at thunderbirdfsc@gmail.com.

<em>

FIONNUALA PIERSE swimming 2010–present

</em>

PATRICIA PIERSE swimming 2012–present

THE PIERsE sIsTERs I will have to say being 16 and flirting with the Aussie boys who were in Vancouver for the Mel Zajac International during warm-down.

one of those gorgeous unseasonably warm spring days when we were off swimming for a week but had to swim on our own and actually got to swim outside in the sunshine.

This one workout when the dial on the heater was broken and the pool was really warm.

My favourite memory is sneaking into the outdoor pool for random late night swims. They were always a good time and I’m sad there can’t be more.

2. what’s your passion outside of swimming?

I love fashion! I have a ridiculous shoe obsession, and really anything that has to do with clothing or accessories.

I love to bake, hence why I have made it my career choice! But I also love to ski ... which is why I moved to Whistler!

Animals. I love all animals, but dogs are probably number one. When I need to brighten my day, I hang out at the dog beach and play with all the puppies.

Eating! I am always hungry.

I love to do people’s hair and makeup and pick out outfits for them.

3. what sibling or birth order stereotype do you fit most?

I am the bossy older sister for sure, and also the black sheep. I had to be bossy and loud to be heard and paid attention to when five others came after me.

I am a bossy older sister, and I am really good at not getting in trouble for things I’ve done. Not that I ever did anything wrong.

Is there a stereotype for number five middle child? I suppose I’m the perfectionist and ocD one.

I’m the sweet one. I’ve got a lot of love to share.

Well, I’m the youngest of seven, so I guess whatever comes with being the baby of the family. I definitely get away with more.

4. People say i’m most like _____ because...

I am most like my dad. Not shy, loud, silly, stubborn and great at the art of bullshit. In general, I am the tortoise who never gives up.

The little mermaid because I swim and have flowing — apparently red, although I would go with auburn — hair.

People say I’m most like Taylor swift. I don’t think its because I actually am, I think it’s more because they know it’ll make me super excited.

People have always said I’m most like Annamay because I look like her and we are very similar in certain ways.

5. what’s the best april fool’s joke you’ve played on someone or you’ve been the victim of?

I convinced my mom that I had broken my arm before a big swim meet and she nearly had a heart attack.

Definitely that time in my first year when Vancouver thought it would be funny to snow on April 1.

Not a funny joke.

In my high school English class, my teacher gave us a test on shakespeare and asked us to write down specific verses word for word.

My dad had lit the fire and it smoked up the entire room, so when my mom came home we all lay on the floor and pretended to be unconscious.

1. what’s your favourite memory of the UBc outdoor pool?

grainne. We are often confused as twins and our personalities and mannerisms are scarily similar.

I had this little noise/ voice recording meant for hiding. I hid it in my friend’s room for three days and he actually thought he was going crazy and hearing voices.

My first time racing at Mel Zajac, the outdoor pool was the warm-down pool and I was super excited that I got to swim outside. I think we did more playing around than doing what we were supposed to.

6 | FEATURES |

Thursday, April 3, 2014

The role of women at UBC and in society is continuously evolving. From attending school while raising kids to bringing other types of activism into feminism, women’s lives are often a delicate...

Balancing Act Around 55 per cent of all students and 34 per cent of all faculty at UBC are women.

From the growth of the UBC Needs to Feminism Facebook group to rallies against rape culture to events celebrating the feminist cause, 2013-2014 has been a busy year for discussing and dissecting gender and sexuality on campus.

In this year’s women’s supplement, we explore what it’s like to raise children while attending class, hear a personal reflection on the importance of intersectionality within gendered discourses and more.

This by no means exhaustive of the breadth of debate and discourse or the variety of aims and accomplishments occurring on campus, but merely one of many attempts at giving a platform to unique voices and broaching particularly difficult topics.

Almas, fourth year history

Amy, eighth year comp sci

Bailey, fourth year integrated sciences

Chloe, second year Sauder Eva, second year biology

—Margareta Dovgal, Guest Editor Photos by Stephanie Xu

Inside the world of UBC’s student-parents Margareta Dovgal Guest Editor

For many undergraduate students, the question of how you would raise a child while attending classes may not have even occurred. But while it may look as though it rarely happens, the reality is that at a university as large as UBC, these situations are inevitable.

Most parent-students are working on master’s degrees or PhDs, and though no official statistics exist, those at UBC Daycare Services and UBC Access and Diversity are not unfamiliar with younger student parents. In addition to being responsible for the health and happiness of a child, the major issues student parents face are predominantly childcare, finances and social isolation.

Childcare Beverly Christian, assistant director at the UBC Daycare, explained the intricacies of the UBC Daycare in detail, noting that the integration with Student Housing and Hospitality Services means the daycare is mandated to support students, faculty, and staff. Waiting lists vary based on age, with the underthree category boasting the longest waiting list. Expectant mothers are advised to sign up for the waiting list as early as the first trimester. Typically the daycare is fully enrolled, though there are a few independent care services on campus. More than 50 per cent of families enrolled are also residents from within the university area. The

good news is that a student quota of 40 per cent exists, and as the daycare cannot afford under-enrolment, the student quota is consistently filled.

B.C. does not have a publicly funded child care system, but Christian believes that it is absolutely needed.

“UBC is doing a lot for its employees and students but it’s time for the government to step up to the plate,” she said. “It is not fair to just look at UBC, and we must also look provincially and nationally [for the childcare support B.C. requires].” She also applauded the efforts of student parents who manage to study, work and parent, expressing amazement at their management of what is a truly difficult situation — especially when pursuing something as challenging as a doctorate, which she told us is the case for many clients at the daycare.

Finances When it comes to affording the costs of parenting, many student parents turn to subsidies offered by the B.C. government, which currently run at $750 monthly for infants (birth to 18 months), $635 for toddlers (19 to 36 months), $550 for preschoolers (37 months and up), all based on financial need. There is no childcare system in B.C., something childcare advocacy groups, such as the Coalition of Child Care Advocates and the Early Childhood Educators of BC, are desperate to change. Their proposed $10-perday Child Care plan has earned the

endorsement of the City of Vancouver, the UBC Child Care Services Parent Council and the BC NDP, to name a few.

The plan proposes a public childcare system to reduce the exceptionally high childcare fees in B.C. as compared to other provinces such as Quebec and Manitoba. Families would pay $10 per child per day for care, and families earning less than $40,000 annually would be entitled to free childcare. Proponents say the system would increase the number of parents in the workforce, especially those taking significant breaks from working after the birth of a child. The plan is based on the evolution of existing licensed childcare providers into “early years centre networks.”

A phenomenon often called the “generation squeeze” is felt at UBC just as it is throughout Canada. Many young parents in Canada struggle to afford high costs of living and the costs of pursuing higher education, often saddled with debt and subsisting on low wages, all while trying to provide a happy and healthy life for any children they have. According to the 2013 Child Poverty Report Card, compiled by First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition, B.C. has the worst rate of child poverty in Canada, with 19 per cent of children growing up in the province affected by poverty.

The report also strongly supports the $10-per-day per child plan, recommending it as a way of reducing the impact of poverty on the development of individual children and raising the employment potential of parents.

Another shocking statistic is that 50 per cent of B.C. single-parent households in 2011 were under the poverty line. The 2013 report says such high poverty rates likely stem from “the difficulty many face finding affordable childcare so [single parents] can sustain employment,” further reinforcing the case for a publicly managed childcare system in B.C. — or at least an intervention on behalf of policy makers to make the struggles of generation squeeze less severe, particularly when they are in the process of raising a generation of future Canadians.

Time management When it comes to the accommodations granted to students struggling to parent and learn at the same time, certain case-by-case accommodations are often made when familial obligations interfere with classes or examinations.

Janet Mee, director of UBC Access and Diversity, says accommodations for pregnant students include allowing parking close to a building that usually doesn’t allow it, among other provisions. Academic advising holds another role in being able to grant greater flexibility to those whose path to a degree is complicated by parenthood, though it is relatively rare at the undergraduate level, with the general undergraduate demographic being aged 18 to 24.

Parenting at the graduate level is a lot more common, as graduate studies often include a greater age range.

Mee said that because the number of students is small, “it can be quite an isolating experience.” Campus activities targeted at creating a fulfilling undergraduate life include joining clubs, going on exchange or participating in a co-op program. Unfortunately, many of these prove inaccessible to those with significant parental obligations, making the pursuit of an undergraduate degree as a parent a “very different experience.”

Combined with the likelihood of having to work to support young children and being spread very thin financially, student parenting can be a very isolating experience socially, though there seems to be at least some support for single parents. The Single Parents on Campus group has published the expansive “Guide to Resources & Supports for Parents,” available online at student.ubc. ca. Furthermore, UBC Access and Diversity runs an active blog at blogs. ubc.ca/parentsoncampus.

While UBC does its best providing the necessary support for those balancing the trials of education and parenting, many different sources agree that a push towards public provincial childcare is required. The presence of communities for parents on campus, especially those who are raising children single-handedly, is a step in the right direction for alleviating the emotional weight of parenting. But the big issue is affordable childcare, and that still remains to be solved. U

UBC econ prof talks single motherhood at school Marina Adshade earned her degrees while her daughter coloured beside her in lectures — now she teaches about the economics of love and relationships at UBC Margareta Dovgal Guest Editor In addition to being a sessional lecturer of economics at UBC, Marina Adshade is also a single mother of two.

How has she juggled a career in academia with raising a son and daughter?

Her first child, a daughter, was two years old when Marina began her undergraduate degree at York University, and her son was born in the first term of her PhD at Queen’s University.

She completed her doctorate in four years, finishing significantly earlier than average, despite being the only caregiver to both of her children. The faculty at Queen’s was very supportive; Marina even shared a nanny with one of the professors in her department for a period. Daycare services were available on campus, proving to be flexible on timing and fees, which permitted her to fit childcare around her busy PhD workload, rather than the other way around.

Adshade described her schedule during the most hectic time as having consisted of “putting [her] kids to bed

at 8 p.m., working until 2 a.m. and getting up at 7 a.m.” to repeat the cycle all over. How did she make room for a social life? Outside schooling and socializing with fellow parents over playdates, “there wasn’t one,” she said, laughing.

Adshade also conceded that there’s really no such thing as “the perfect timing to have children,” considering that regardless of circumstances, parents are going to “make it work, one way or another.”

Adshade never envisioned graduate school when beginning her education, but chose to pursue it when she learned she was expecting her son, because it was a path to creating better professional opportunities to ultimately help in raising her children.

Something Adshade hasn’t really seen in her one year at UBC is children brought by their parents along to lectures. She recalls how during her undergraduate degree, her daughter would sit and colour in large lectures as Adshade would learn, and it appears to be less common at UBC. In regards to her own department, she says the

Department of Economics has been “very supportive,” and there seem to be many members of the faculty and staff with children, such that events for the department often accommodate family needs and are geared to be family friendly.

She teaches a course, ECON 351: “Women in the Economy,” which has previously examined trends in fertility.

Though the notion of women with more education choosing to have fewer children is somewhat accurate, it has begun to change. Gradually, more educated women, such as those with professional and academic graduate degrees, are experiencing an increase in their fertility rates. Adshade says this trend is related to the rising expenses of having kids, as those earning good incomes can afford more children.

Another noteworthy trend is that “well-educated men are increasingly married to women who are as well, or better, educated as themselves.” There are roughly 125 women to 100 men with university degrees in the 25 to 44 age group in Canada, so it is becoming

PHOTO COURTESY MARINA ADSHADE

that “an ambitious woman, who works hard, finds somebody who is invested in her own career too.” What new couples appear to be doing is “working towards finding better balances.”

Relationships are now moving towards “ambitious, career-invested women actively seeking out a partner inter-

ested in an even share of responsibilities at home,” rather than delegating the balance of the housework to the woman.

And although there are more people than ever choosing to spend a significant portion of their lives single, “people are now spending a lot more of their lives searching longer, searching better, and searching in a bigger market,” according to Adshade. The end result is more stable marriages than in the past. Being better educated, rather than preventing parenthood as often believed, can also be an incentive for having more children.

Adshade recently authored a book, “The Love Market: What You Need to Know About How We Mate, Date and Marry”, examining relationship formation from an economic standpoint. Over and above her published work — which includes a myriad of articles for publications like The Globe and Mail — and teaching, she is also involved with the upcoming Canadian Economics Association Conference, leading a panel on maternity and its effects on academic life. U

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Franki, fourth year English, psych

Samantha, third year LFS

Georgia, third year Arts

Hannah, third year IR

Irene, second year geology

Julia, third year art history

Meegin, second year theatre

| FEATURES | 7

Mia, second year kinesiology

What it means to The importance of celebrating work for feminism women at UBC at UBC Cicely Blain Contributor

Cheneil Hale Contributor I got the idea for the I Am a Feminist campaign back in December, following various conversations about my new identity as a feminist with my friends. The reactions I got ranged from “That’s nice, but I could never be a feminist because I’m a man” to “Why do you hate men?” to “I don’t really think that feminism is relevant anymore” to “Is it true that feminists want a society where women dominate men?”

This lack of information, and prevalence of misinformation, shocked me. Why do people, at best, think feminism is no longer relevant, and at worst, have these visceral negative reactions? For me, the answer is that most people have already made up their minds on feminism; the average person uncritically accepts the status quo and feels threatened by any alternative mode of thinking that challenges the way things are. Thus, I wanted my campaign to be a very low commitment, non-threatening, visual campaign.

My hopes were that, on March 10, when people saw their peers, friends, teachers, family members and strangers on the street wearing these “I Am a Feminist” buttons, it would plant the seed of curiosity in their minds, and they would perhaps ask their friend why they identify as a feminist, or just go home and search for some feminist articles on the Internet.

My goal was to help spark learning and dialogue on feminist issues,

and to help people take that first step into the wonderful world of activism. In order to gauge the success of the campaign, we took surveys in various classes on the students’ perception of feminism. The data we received told us that most people think feminism is no longer relevant. This is surprising given the fact that women make 80 cents per dollar that men make for the same job; that one in four women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime; that women only own one per cent of the world's property; that only about 15 per cent of senior management positions are held by women despite the fact that 58 per cent of university graduates are women and 50 per cent of middle management positions are held by women.

Thankfully, there is a sizable population of young activists on campus. The UBC Needs Feminism Facebook group has over 700 members, the I Am a Feminist campaign garnered over 400 participants, the UBC Needs Decolonization Facebook group (which focuses on First Nations issues) has close to 400 members, and there are various other activist groups gaining popularity. My hope is that with the success of the I Am a Feminist Campaign, and the extraordinary popularity of the various activist groups on UBC campus, other students and faculty will be inspired to start social justice campaigns of their own. U Cheneil Hale is organizer of I Am A Feminist.

I started a project called Celebrating Women at UBC to honour notable women-identified persons on the UBC campus this past International Women’s Day with fellow equity ambassadors. The project has been a huge success, with nominations coming from all corners of the community and honouring the fantastic array of students, staff members and faculty who contribute to the betterment of our university. Due to the hugely positive response to the initiative, we will continue to accept nominations and honour women-identified persons on our campus and expand the project beyond a digital campaign.

Some question the need to celebrate women on a campus where there is in fact a higher percentage of female students than male.

My response is: that’s exactly the problem.

Some people, however, have questioned the need to celebrate women on a campus where there is in fact a higher percentage of female students than male.

My response is: that’s exactly the problem.

Many of us have become complacent about issues such as racism, homophobia and sexism because they have become so commonplace in our society. We have lost the ability to

recognize instances of discrimination.

We have forgotten that not so long ago, people of colour were enslaved and segregated. We have become content remembering the civil rights movements as a moment in history, not the entire foundation for the current freedoms we enjoy.

This notion, of course, carries over into women’s movements. Our great-grandmothers’ generation knew a time when women could not vote or divorce. Within our mothers’ generation, women fought for equal pay and job opportunities. Within our generation, women are over-sexualized, harassed, objectified and denied equal rights purely on the basis of their gender. We cannot forget the battles that were fought before us, and we cannot put down the torch passed to us by our foremothers and forefathers — because there were, of course, many men who helped pave the path to women’s equality.

The aim of the Celebrating Women at UBC initiative is to highlight the amazing women on this campus. Although in Canada both cis-gendered* men and women are able to enjoy great freedoms and luxuries, the importance of creating positive women-identifying role models is hugely important. One of the main issues of the patriarchal society we inhabit is the propensity of institutions, parents, teachers and leaders to consciously or subconsciously tell young girls they cannot achieve the same things as boys and that their appearance matters more than their creativity, hard work and intelligence.

Some of the women interviewed for this campaign are mothers and have commented on how helping their children make the right choices is a crucial part of their job at home

and as educators at UBC. Sunaina Assanand, a UBC psychology instructor and one of the women featured on our blog, says that having a 12-year-old daughter has made her realize the effect that gender has on children, and believes that every girl should have the opportunity to fulfil her potential.

This initiative is important because although everyone has a voice, not everyone’s is heard. With our blog, we have immortalized the words of these women so that everyone at UBC is able to refer to their profiles and engage in an amazing variety of critical thought processes on topics ranging from queer of-colour critique and decolonization to childhood development and mechanical engineering. We have committed to encouraging and maintaining diversity in the nominations, and as such have profiled women of all kinds. Trans* women, queer women, immigrant women, women of colour and many other types of women-identified bodies have been and will continue to be featured in this project.

We hope this initiative inspires people to celebrate the women around them and recognize the efforts of women on this campus to help our university to excel. U

*Cis-gendered: the opposite of transgendered; someone who identifies their gender as the same as their socially recognized biological sex.

Cicely Blain is UBC’s Equity Ambassador student coordinator. Equity Ambassadors is a peer program aimed at tackling social injustices and discrimination and promoting accessibility and inclusivity on the UBC campus.

Crossroads: my path to intersectionality Fatima Ahmed Contributor My mother, a conservative Muslim Pakistani-Canadian immigrant settler, has never really opposed anything I wanted to do with my life. She gave me incredible freedom, considering her own upbringing and beliefs. There is one issue, however, on which she doesn’t seem to agree with me: she repeatedly asks when I’m getting married.

I have mastered the skill of ambiguous answers. In response, I would ask things such as, “What about my degree? I haven’t even graduated yet.”

Of course, she has often matter-offactly told me that I can always go back to school afterward. One day, tired of the whole routine, I asked, “Would you still ask me that if I was your son?”

Her hesitant in response told me all I needed to know.

I first learned of intersectionality when my philosophy professor intro-

duced me to Kimberlé Crenshaw, who argued that systems of oppression interact with each other rather than operate in a vacuum. She put forth the radical notion that feminist movements and anti-racist movements have paradoxically marginalized women of color, whose unique experiences include living in patriarchal societies as well as white dominant ones.

The irony was not lost on me that a white male had brought me to the brink of self-recognition. That same week, my history TA was leading a discussion on women’s role in the human rights movement. The discussion led to racial minorities’ rights as compared to women’s rights movements. I quickly put my hand up and burst out talking. I detailed the fact that systems of oppression are not mutually exclusive. I explained that I, being one of the few minority women in the room, felt constantly ignored and put off because I didn’t belong to the larger picture. It all came pouring

out in an embarrassing word vomit — again, to a white male.

Being a Faculty of Arts student, there is ample opportunity to discuss social issues and to analyze women’s roles in countless societies. I have a substantive stake in the society I live in now and how, as a woman, I can improve it. Something that always hinders me is the fact that these discussions seem immensely constricted.

Almost always, I hear peers and professors say “in the liberal Western world.” This phrase always stings slightly. Being an immigrant settler myself and growing up in a Western society, I cannot help but define that phrase in contrast to the East and to Pakistan.

According to the 2013 Global Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum, the worst countries for gender inequality are in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Pakistan ranks as the second worst country for female equality. A Pakistani woman is

raped every two hours in the country and one is gang-raped every eight hours. Pakistani women fill only five percent of leadership positions because of ingrained cultural norms imposed by their families, husbands and in-laws. Domestic abuse is not even recognized by law enforcement authorities as a criminal act, and many instances is not even reported because of weak societal and legal support for female victims. It’s easy to ignore these issues, but we have to be aware that they travel to our communities just as people do.

Being a Pakistani-Canadian immigrant, I carry the baggage of my country with me.

Intersectionality, specifically the crossover between gender and race, represents the voice of the truly and radically oppressed women, and counters oppression that travels across oceans to manifest itself in our society. It reminds me that women are being brutally raped, killed and

tortured every day in their own households by their own family under the mask of cultural, religious and moral righteousness. It reminds me how my mother is a product of her own sexist society and how she is only doing what she believes is best for me, based on narrowly defined views she was given about the role of women. I began to understand how she is a part of a system of female oppression that has travelled to the West.

When I find myself on the precipice of two worlds, which have equal claims on my identity and are equally responsible for why I feel marginalized on a daily basis, intersectionality allows for reconciliation between the two halves of myself that have made me feel so torn. I have found a much better platform on which to stand so I can now start building the relationships I need, with family and with society, to begin understanding and rectifying the injustices of the past. U

Thursday, april 3, 2014 |

EDIToR RHYS EDWARDS

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Shad shows how it’s done Canadian hip-hop superstar to wax eloquent at Block Party Reyhana Heatherington senior lifestyle Writer

IMAgE couRTEsY jusTIN BRoADBENT

shad is known for his quick-witted wordplay and clever social critique.

What would you do if you walked into your class and Juno Award-winning artist Shad was lecturing?

This was a recent reality for students at UBC. Two months ago, one of Canada’s most talented songwriters was a guest lecturer for an intermediate lyric writing class in the creative writing department.

“I always enjoy getting to talk about music, getting to talk about my experiences in music and how music relates to culture, or even just my process as a songwriter,” Shad said. “There’s actually not that many opportunities to talk about that stuff in ordinary conversations. So to get into a space where I’m allowed to do that and have that dialogue is super fun.”

The hip-hop artist, born Shadrach Kabango, is based in Vancouver, and this year he will be one of the performers at UBC’s annual Block Party.

After a decade in the music business, his achievements are numerous. His third album TSOL won the 2011 Juno for Rap Recording of the Year, beating out Drake’s Thank Me Later, and his fourth album Flying Colours was nominated in the same category at the 2014 awards. CBC also named

him second on a list of Canada’s all-time greatest hip-hop artists, behind the godfather of Canadian hip-hop, Maestro Fresh Wes. Flying Colours has been described as Shad’s most confident and ambitious album (see the line “I just might be Jay-Z in my lifetime” from “Intro: Lost”), but there is a clear modesty about him.

Beyond his artistic accomplishments, Shad has a business degree from Wilfrid Laurier University and earned a master’s degree in liberal studies from Simon Fraser University while simultaneously making music.

“It felt like a real privilege to get to do two things I enjoyed,” he said.

“Music was my priority, so I was doing school about a term a year.”

Shad describes his music as having “roots in classic ’90s hiphop,” and his songwriting is both self-referential and wide-reaching.

In “Fam Jam,” Shad, who was born to Rwandan parents in Kenya, explores the immigrant experience, while “Progress” challenges the notion of the American Dream. Songs like “Stylin’” showcase a wealth of wordplay and oratorical expertise — it doesn’t hurt that East Vancouver gets a shoutout in this track.

Tariq Hussain is the instructor who invited Shad to guest lecture, and is himself a member of the band Brasstronaut. He has known Shad

for several years, and said UBC students are fortunate to have an MC of such high calibre taking the stage on campus.

“It’s appropriate to have him performing at a university,” he said.

“This guy likes words and he knows how to use them.”

Hussain hopes audiences will take the time to dig further into Shad’s songs since the rapper spits rhymes at such a fast speed.

“Lyrically, if an artist like that performs and has interesting things to say, hopefully it inspires a few students to go and explore it,” he said.

While his days often consist of writing and recording songs, Shad appreciates the power of his father’s saying: “Life is new every day.” He also carves out time for the one form of exercise he enjoys.

“Some days I’ll be in the studio, some days I’ll be writing and some days I’ll be doing neither — I’ll just blow it all off and play some basketball,” Shad said.

While he has played venues across North America and can be found supporting the local music scene in Vancouver, Shad said outdoor shows like the upcoming one at MacInnes Field have a different vibe.

“It’s not just about people coming to see me do my songs, it’s more about the atmosphere. Even as a performer I get to enjoy that as well,” he said. “That’s probably the thing I’m most looking forward to, is just enjoying that energy and that atmosphere and just facilitating that experience for people.”

“There’s a lot to be learned from people like him,” Hussain said.

Prepare yourself for a lyrical education from a thoughtful artist. U

ThURSdAy, ApRil 3, 2014

aRT >>

A picture-perfect past

| CUlTURE | 9

Vegan in vogue

Vegetarian cuisine courses offer fun alternatives in the student kitchen

JESSIca-chRIStIN haMEtNER Food

cARTER BRuNDAgE/THE uBYssEY

Pictured: works from the permanent collection, currently on exhibit. The gallery will celebrate its anniversary with a gala on saturday.

AMS Art Gallery celebrates 65th anniversary Austen Erhardt staff Writer

For many UBC students, a mention of “the Gallery” evokes thoughts of reasonably priced beer and karaoke.

However, the AMS Art Gallery, nestled in the southwest corner of the SUB only a few steps away from its better-known cousin, is often overlooked by passersby. Inside, the stark white walls are peppered with the contrasting colours and designs of an ever-rotating series of paintings, portraits and posters.

The AMS Art Gallery’s popularity has waxed and waned over the years, but it boasts a long and rich history that few at UBC are aware of. This week, it’s celebrating its 65th anniversary.

Joshua Bokor, the current Art Gallery commissioner, has been involved with the institution since September 2012. Since joining the Art Gallery team, he’s made an effort to increase awareness of the gallery and its collection, and is very cognizant of the issues that it has faced in attracting visitors.

“I’ve been at UBC for six years now, and for the first four years I hardly ever saw the gallery open,” Bokor said.

In addition to the student exhibits that regularly adorn its walls, the AMS Art Gallery maintains an extensive — and expensive — permanent collection. The gallery features works by such renowned artists as A.Y. Jackson and Jack Shadbolt. The notion of a permanent collection was conceived by a UBC English professor.

“The idea behind the permanent collection started in 1940 with a

professor named Hunter Lewis, an English professor who approached the AMS with the idea of creating a student-run permanent collection to foster a better artistic community on campus,” Bokor said.

The first pieces were purchased in 1948, and the collection grew rapidly throughout the 1950s and 60s under the direction of local artist and UBC art department co-founder B.C. Binning. Today, the collection includes 72 pieces, many of which are the works of local artists and UBC alumni.

Vanessa Grondin, promotions coordinator for the Art Gallery, believes the institution is an important venue for students interested in art to become involved in the broader artistic community, and to meet others with similar interests. Grondin herself curated her first exhibit at the Art Gallery.

“It was a really valuable experience,” said Grondin. “I feel like I wouldn’t have had that opportunity anywhere else.”

Grondin also stressed the art gallery’s importance in a historical context. The gallery hosts several works from the Vancouver school, a group including some of Vancouver’s most well-known artists, and it is the only student-run gallery in North America that has a permanent collection. “[The Vancouver school] played a major role in establishing Vancouver’s art identity. In the 60s and 70s, when the conceptual art movement started emerging, Vancouver was one of the main cities to have artists in that field. It had a lot to do with ... Vancouver becoming known within the bigger art market, like

THeaTRe >>

Stephen Harper takes the stage in Proud

IMAgE couRTEsY FIREHALL ARTs cENTRE

Andrew Wheeler plays “the Prime Minister” in Proud, a satire of canadian politics.

New York and Paris,” Grondin said.

The Art Gallery and its permanent collection moved from Brock Hall to the SUB in 1970, and has been in its current location since 1983. The original location in the SUB now houses the aforementioned Gallery Lounge. This is the Art Gallery’s last year in the SUB before it moves into a new space in the AMS Student Nest.

To celebrate the anniversary of the permanent collection and as a farewell to the current space, the Art Gallery is hosting a “Gala-ry Night” on April 5. Grondin believes it will be a great opportunity to meet others involved in the artistic community.

“It’s a chance to talk with the curator [of the permanent collection], and to network with some of the art directors and some of the established artists who are coming,” she said.

Bokor hopes that several artists whose work is displayed in the gallery will attend the gala, and highlighted the multidimensional aspect of the celebration.

“It’s been in the works for a while ... a big sendoff for the gallery before the move into the new SUB. It’s been 30 years in this space and the anniversary went by without so much as a hooray, and it’s also the 65th year of the collection. It’s a lot of things rolled into one and we thought it’d be a good time to have something nice.” U Gala-ry by Night will take place the AMS Art Gallery on April 5 from 7 to 11 p.m. Tickets are available at sacart@ams.ubc.ca or at the door.

Gabby Lynn Contributor

He might not know it, but Stephen Harper is about to make his theatrical debut in Vancouver.

Proud, Michael Healey’s scathing political satire, is playing at East Vancouver’s Firehall Arts Centre this month. Set immediately in an alternate history after the 2011 Canadian elections, a cunning, animated female MP gives the newly re-elected prime minister a run for his money. The show — whose main character bears a remarkable resemblance to Stephen Harper — sparked controversy when it first played in Toronto in 2012.

The miniature cast of four characters features UBC Theatre alumnus Scott Button, who plays the son of an MP in the prime minister’s parliament. “[He] delivers a very different take on opinions from Harper, which is what makes it so interesting,” said Button.

When you think of vegan food, do you think of gourmet salads, or boring dishes?

Chantale Roy, a gourmet cuisine chef instructor in UBC’s continuing studies program who teaches courses such as “Raw Vegan Food” and “Gourmet Vegetarian Cuisine,” is on a mission to change preconceptions about vegan food. Eager to create dishes as tasty as they are healthy, Roy inspires students to prepare meals that are more gourmet than mushy, brown or bland.

Offering 10 different programs each semester, Roy’s classes are often busy with ravenous meat eaters, devout vegans and pregnant moms, all of whom are curious about the benefits of vegetarianism and veganism.

“What I like about my courses is the openness of people,” Roy said. “When they sign up for one of those classes that is not conventional cooking, they are already open-minded.”

Students are as passionate about the course as the instructor herself.

Judy Chorney, a student currently taking Roy’s gourmet vegetarian cuisine course, was eager to expand her repertoire by learning about vegan food.

“Most importantly, I found through taking Chantale’s course that you learn a lot about the nutritional values about foods and how important it is to have raw food, for instance, in your diet,” said Chorney.

Educating students about wholesome foods is important to Roy, who studied at the Living Light Culinary Arts Institute with a focus on raw vegan foods.

“We go raw or vegan mainly because we want to be healthy, for ethical reasons or spiritual reasons, but I really focus on nutrition. It’s not a nutrition course, but there’s a big part of it. As soon as people ask me questions on that, I just give as much as I can,” said Roy. In fact, it’s her openness to sharing knowledge and recipes that has inspired Roy to teach culinary arts courses at UBC and also write a number of books. After experiencing a disappointing hardship in one Though politically provocative, the play isn’t short on humour.

“There’s this opening scene where the female lead, Jisbella, rushes in to the office because she’s about to have sex with somebody, and she needs to borrow a condom.

It’s such a funny and ridiculous way to introduce her,” said Button. “The humour of it is a really good way to discuss the issues that Proud deals with.”

Playing the unfiltered and uncontrollable MP Jisbella is Emmelia Gordon. A veteran at dealing with controversial topics, the leading lady boasts involvement in such productions as the one-woman show Dissolve and the Fringe hit Progressive Polygamists. Having fallen in love with the tension and humour of Proud, her hope is that the play will start a conversation about what’s happening in Canadian politics today.

“There’s a lot of stuff going on right now that’s really scary ... with <em>

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IMAgE couRTEsY cHANTALE RoY

Vegan extraordinatire chantale Roy doesn’t believe vegan means boring.

of the businesses she partnered up with, which stole 27 products and 70 recipes she had created, Roy has adopted an alternative approach.

“What I’ve learned from that is that I don’t want to protect my recipes anymore. I want to create more and share it and reach as many people as possible,” said Roy. Roy invents dishes that can be simply recreated at home for breakfast, lunch or dinner with an added touch of sophistication.

“I grew up on a farm, so I was very close to nature and the produce. After that, I had my own farm for 15 years and I was doing community support in agriculture and permaculture and I was very in love with my veggies. When my sons wanted to eat something, I wanted to create it in a healthy way, so they inspired me a lot, too,” said Roy. And it seems Roy may have just unearthed the secret on how to jazz up vegetables so they can make the leap from bland to exquisite. Clara Soyris, also taking Roy’s gourmet vegetarian cuisine course, is not a vegetarian. Nonetheless, she was surprised by how delightful vegetables could taste.

“Vegetables aren’t my favourite food, but Chantale accommodates them in a way that you love it. We see that she’s talented, but we can do the same at home, so we feel great,” said Soyris.

Affordability and effortlessness are factors Roy has in mind when teaching students her recipes.

Providing a list of ingredients and suppliers allows students to comfortably reenact meals at home for family and friends.

“What I was most impressed about was her passion about cooking healthy,” said Jonathan Lau, another student. “It really shows through her cooking, her mannerisms, through the way she conducts information . It doesn’t really matter what kind of course she’s running — I sign up and it’s because she’s teaching it.” U For more information about Chantale Roy and UBC Continuing Studies, visit the program’s website, cstudies. ubc.ca.

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our environment, with culture, with funding, and a lot of it is slipping right under our noses,” Gordon said.

Nonetheless, Proud itself was never in danger of slipping under the radar. Dropped by its original production company in Toronto for fear of a libel suit, the play is an unflinching critique on the realities of Canadian politics. “It’s very caustic,” Button said, “but it is done with kindness. It really humanizes the characters, especially Stephen Harper.”

Then why the controversy?

“I think it really affected people, and that scared them,” Gordon suggested. “But that’s what I love about it — if it doesn’t scare you, it probably isn’t worth doing. It’s supposed to hit you in the gut.” U <em>

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Proud will play at the Firehall Arts Centre at 280 E Cordova St. from April 5 through 26, featuring paywhat-you-can Wednesday matinees. <em>

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Thursday, April 3, 2014 |

student voice. Community reach.

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Why divestment is a bad idea

FILe PHOTO Charles To/THE UBYSSEY

Dan Rae argues that advocates of divestment at UBC aren’t schooled in the facts.

DAN RAE Op-Ed

illustration jethro au/the ubyssey

Outgoing UBC president Stephen Toope was not thrilled with the Suicide Girls burlesque performance at his going-away party.

LAST WORDS Suicide Girls less alt than they think In the name of celebrating alternative models of sexuality, the Suicide Girls came to Vancouver last night to perform on the first stop of their cross-Canada “Blackheart Burlesque” tour.

We at The Ubyssey are all for celebrating these models too. The problem is, there’s nothing “alternative” about SuicideGirls whatsoever.

SuicideGirls co-founder Missy Suicide and her cohorts lambast the mainstream media for its inaccurate representation of the female body and its idealization of distorted body standards. According to them, the SuicideGirls online community allows women to be comfortable with their bodies and express their own kinds of sexual-

PArting shots and snap judgements from The ubyssey editorial board

ity in a way that they themselves would like to be represented.

Upon a casual perusal of the SuicideGirls website, however, one wouldn’t have thought there was anything especially transgressive about the community. We see the exact same body standards being represented: the Suicide Girls are mostly twenty-something white women with above-average bra sizes, slim waists and makeup-clean faces.

Sure, they’re covered in tattoos and piercings. But these are cosmetic differences, and they are no less signifiers for a certain ideal standard than artificial tans, waxed pubic hair and botox. It’s an image. It’s a brand. The website’s FAQ page even recommends that potential models watch episodes of America’s Next Top Model to learn how to smile properly.

Perhaps the most injurious thing about SuicideGirls is its pretense towards quasi-feminist advocacy through the “empowerment” of women. Though we don’t doubt that some women do find this celebration of sexuality empowering, we suspect the majority of the website’s visitors — we’re going out on a limb here, but they probably possess a Y chromosome — are more interested in a model’s physical assets than her passion for video games or sculpture.

In the end, the glamorous photos and poses are no different in format and composition than those of any other softcore pornography website. It saddens us to think that, though these women may derive joy from their lifestyle, the average user will nevertheless see them as nothing more than a two-dimensional source of stimulation. U

Time to turn clock back on tuition hikes Michael stewart Op-Ed

Another year, another two per cent increase in tuition. We can set our watch to it: as the spring thaw approaches, UBC graduate students receive a lengthy email — now with video evidence — firmly explaining why tuition “has to go up.”

Incredibly, every year tuition “has to” go up by exactly the maximum allowable by law.

Why it's time to get worried The provincial government, led

by Christy Clark’s Liberals, is musing about removing or loosening the current two per cent cap on tuition increases. When the Liberals took power in 2001, UBC graduate tuition for domestic students was $2,165, among the lowest in the country. Then-premier Gordon Campbell removed the existing freeze on university tuition and within two years, fees had increased by 48 per cent. This year, tuition stands at $4,436 for domestic and $7,793 for international students — that's more than double.

Why it's time to get nostalgic A tuition waiver represented a key demand of CUPE 2278 members while bargaining for a new contract in 2003. When teaching assistants went on strike over this issue, UBC offered a tuition waiver to all PhD students. But because it was not included in a written contract, the university quietly “phased out” the tuition waiver in 2007 — well before the market crash and economic downturn of 2008.

When the university instituted the waiver, tuition was $3,200 for domestic and $7,200 for international students in full-time graduate research. Meanwhile, a teaching assistant’s wages have not kept pace with inflation, which, also like clockwork, increases by 1.5 to two per cent each year – not to mention increases in rent (15 per cent in last four years), child care (20 per cent in last two years at UBC) and health premiums (doubled since 2000).

Why it's time to say no

New graduates are facing an increasingly bleak job market offering underpaid, part-time jobs to overqualified graduates. We live in the second-most expensive city in the world and at $35,000, our average student debt is the highest in the country. And yet every year, UBC tells us tuition “has to” keep increasing.

With our backs against the wall, it’s OK to ask, soberly and comprehensively: “Why?” Students are starting to cotton on. In February, 90.9 per cent of responders in a referendum question asked during the AMS election voted in favour of urging student government to advocate on behalf of lower tuition.

We don’t have to accept this increase. A firm collective statement in 2003 encouraged the university to award a tuition waiver to some graduate students. We’ve all seen what a united group of students can do to a government unwilling to invest in post-secondary education in Quebec. It can happen here too. Just say no to tuition hikes. U Michael Stewart is the communications chair for CUPE 2278, a local union representing teaching assistants. <em>

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I’m not sure why divestment from oil companies is even a discussion at the moment.

UBC has professionals who tirelessly work to ensure that funds are being invested in the best possible manner. They make sure the investments are financially viable and align with UBC’s best interests and goals. Investment isn’t a place for public opinion or student referendums, but for argument’s sake, let’s pretend it is, and that those professionals don’t exist.

It seems all too common for environmental activists to portray the doom and gloom of the Alberta oil sands operations, but they all constantly fail to recognize this isn’t a standalone industry. It’s mining.

Like any other mine, they dig up the land, extract the resource and put the remaining dirt back in the ground. It’s quite simple, and if the small amount of land they temporarily disrupt is your argument for opposition to oil, then you better stop using all mined resources.

Unless you live in the forest and eat wild berries, that isn’t going to happen.

Coal, iron, uranium, potash fertilizer, lime for cement and diamonds are just a few of the mined resources on which everyone depends. The world is dependent on mined resources. And these mines aren’t pillaging the land; they are a well-thought-out extraction processes. They have a full mine plan, starting with an exploration phase and ending with a reclamation phase, leaving no traces that a mine was ever there.

To add to that, this isn’t how the whole oil sands reserve is extracted.

Only 20 per cent of the stated reserves can be mined. The rest has to be extracted via in situ drilling, using cutting edge steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) technology. If you don’t know what SAGD is, you clearly haven’t done enough research to be in the oil debate.

So why are we advocating divestment? These companies are environmental monsters pillaging the earth, you say? This couldn’t be further from the truth. The oil industry in Canada has extremely stringent environmental regulations they have to follow. The industry is constantly monitoring the environment and their impact.

They can quantify their emissions, water consumption, spills, leaks and even the dust generated on the mine roads. If you hear of a spill, it is because they are environmental stewards that have gone through the proper process of reporting it and cleaning it up. You should be

more concerned with industries that aren’t reporting and monitoring their environmental impact.

The oil industry isn’t just monitoring, though; they are also constantly improving. Emissions per barrel in the oil sands have been reduced by over 25 per cent since 1990, and these companies are pouring a lot of money going into environmental research. Isn’t this the kind of research and progress UBC wants?

So what is an oil company? Oil companies are already a thing of past. These companies are being reestablished as energy companies. Does UBC want to divest from energy? No. These so called oil companies own and operate large alternative energy resources. They have the money, expertise and a vested interest to explore and invest in research and development in all forms of energy. Shell, a UBC donor, has wind farms that produce over 500 megawatts of electricity. Encana, a company UBC holds shares in, uses over 10,000 solar panels across North American, and invests in hydrogen fuel cell technology.

Chevron has geothermal and solar power production, and it isn’t new — they’ve been doing it since the ’60s.

Are these the kinds of companies we want UBC to divest from? To divest from so-called oil companies would be a divestment from the development of alternative energy sources.

I don’t think the general population even understands oil. It’s not just “dirty” gasoline. Fuel is only one of the uses of oil. Even if we could find all our energy from other sources, we still need oil. It is used in everyday life. Some uses people don’t think of are asphalt, plastics and lubrication. Whether a car runs on gas, electricity or voodoo magic, you still need oil to lubricate it and a road for it to drive on. There are also a ton of other uses for oil. Aspirin, crayons and solar panels, for example, all depend on oil. Oil isn’t preventing us from a sustainable future; it is required to get us there.

The UBC student body is extremely diverse. This is celebrated, and UBC ensures it is an inclusive environment for everyone. The university teaches its students that people can’t be judged based on stereotypes or pop culture. If this is the case, why are we doing the exact opposite with respect to the oil industry? They are leaders. They are energy companies, not oil companies, and we need their products.

These companies aren’t going away anytime soon.

Divestment isn’t the right option, and many experts agree. Let’s leave investment to the professionals. U Dan Rae is a UBC engineering student.

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Thursday, april 3, 2014 |

PIcTuREs + WoRDs oN YouR uNIVERsITY EXPERIENcE

A TI M E LI N E O F TOO PE ’ S G L A SS E S

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standard black

rectangular

purple metal half frame

rectangular

Toope likes his halfrimmed frames. seen sometime from 2006 to 2010, Toope’s rimless lenses may seem to blend with his face, but the black halfframes provide sturdiness.

When Toope was first tapped to be uBc’s 12th president, his hair still had some colour and his glasses were a simple pair of black rectangular frames. It was 2006, and Toope was a fresh face to the uBc community. His dark plastic frames reflect that youthfulness. He didn’t look that different from your average sessional lecturer or grad student.

Illustrations by Julian Yu Words by Ming Wong Photos from Geoff Lister, Kai Jacobson, Mackenzie Walker and courtesy UBCO and McGill News Alumni Quarterly archives

thinner brow line

bold brow line

almost completely rimless

Throughout his reign time as king president of UBc, Toope has always been seen sporting a pair of spectacles, but in the eight years he’s been here, his choice of eyewear has never been stagnant.

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2

4

lighter shade

rectangular

5

round frames

two-toned

almost completely rimless

He dials back the brow line with this pair, as seen in both his 2011 and 2012 annual interview with The Ubyssey. This was Toope starting his second term, the time when he began the meat of his presidency — the launching of the Place and Promise strategic plan, the $1.5 billion start an Evolution fundraising campaign — all the things that might tire a person and make one opt for lightweight glasses to combat the weight of one’s work.

Cover current events at UBC Write for News news@ubyssey.ca

11

striped in bottom half

In 2013, Toope would return to the kind of narrow plastic frame he sported back in 2006, but in a lighter grey, perhaps to complement his greying hair.

Perhaps due to the many press conferences uBc has hosted this school year, the PR team has decided to fine-tune Toope’s optical style with this hipster frame. Perhaps these round frames are a callback to an older time when Toope was just Dean Toope, the youngest ever dean of Mcgill’s Faculty of Law. Maybe — just maybe — his latest choice of glasses is indicative of his return to international law, a return to academia, as he leaves to head u of T’s Munk school of global Affairs in 2015. It’s full circle for Toope. U

12 | GAMES |

ThURSdAy, ApRil 3, 2014

CROSSWORD

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PuZZLE couRTEsY BEsTcRossWoRDs.coM. usED WITH PERMIssIoN.

aCross 1- Problem with L.A. 5- Building wings 9- Hill insect 12- singer Vikki 13- some celts 15- Peter Fonda role 16- Inter ___ 17- old English coin 18- Hammer head

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1- strike breaker 2- Former French colony of north-western Africa 3- Not a dup.

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30- unspoken 31- Actress Verdugo 32- Actor’s parts 34- shipping deduction

PuZZLEs couRTEsY KRAZYDAD. usED WITH PERMIssIoN.

37- Become rigid 40- ___-tung 42- Author Morrison 43- use a full nelson, say 45- Thor Heyerdahl craft 46- Assumed name 48- Miss by ___ 49- Trifling 50- Rat-___ 51- Adam’s third son 52- Rivals 54- Follow 55- shade trees 56- california wine region 59- Nor. neighbor

MAR. 27 ANSWERS